Singing for People with Parkinson's
Designing and delivering singing sessions for people with Parkinson’s and other degenerative neurological disorders
Nicola Wydenbach and Trish Vella-Burrows
in association with Grenville Hancox
View sample text, table of contents and author biographies here
‘I am delighted to commend this excellent book… It offers readers, whether people affected by Parkinson’s or other neurological conditions, family members, health and care professionals or musicians who lead music for health activities, a wonderful resource. They share their wealth of practical experience and insights, offer useful guidance in relation to practicalities and demonstrate clearly that the use of singing as a resource for health and wellbeing is securely grounded in a growing body of robust scientific evidence.’ From the Foreword by Stephen Clift
Based on their extensive research, coupled with hands-on experience of running specialist choirs, the authors have produced a practical manual that will help singing teachers, musicians and allied health professionals in expanding their practice to work with people with Parkinson’s.
They offer a fun, but practical set of exercises to help lead singing groups for people living with the effects of Parkinson’s, while providing information for a basic understanding of the latest research and knowledge about the benefits of singing for people with Parkinson’s. This book comes at a time when the benefits of health promotion, modern day lifestyles and biomedical science have converged to contribute significantly to people living longer in higher-income countries. However, increased longevity brings with it a rise in age-related, chronic ill-health conditions. The personal and financial burden of these conditions - including Parkinson’s - hampers good quality of life (QoL) and weighs heavily on the purses of national economies.
Here is practical advice on how to set up your own singing groups for people with Parkinson’s and support, and evidence-based practice ideas, to established practitioners who are leading existing groups. In addition, the authors present a range of exercises designed to safely support the maintenance of vocal and broader physical functioning, and to promote mental and social well-being and cognitive functioning.